Ironman Texas Training Update

Wow, hard to believe the past 3 weeks have flown by!  I’ve already had 3 high volume weeks of training and now I am on a recovery week again.

Time flies when you're having fun!!!  Or when you're super busy and dead tired all the time.

So my bike rides have been the most challenging to complete lately – it’s either been cold, rainy, or both.  I've spent more time on my trainer indoors than I ever anticipated.  

Three weeks ago, I rode my first 90-miler.  I had plans with the family starting around 4 pm that day and our group ride had been pushed back to 9:30 due to the cold (it was 30-something degrees...brrrr!), so I ended up starting earlier (7:30 am) on my own.  (And yes, my fanny was frozen for the first hour!)  I chose to ride the new paved trails at a park near my house that are 22 miles round trip.  I love the trails!  They provide scenic views of the creek and forest with restrooms spread here and there, but they are also very curvy making it difficult to see if a pedestrian is around the corner.  So, that means you take the roads slower than usual…which means you’re on your bike longer than you’d like.  At one point, I approached a pack of young teenage girls who were chatting it up so much that they couldn’t hear me approaching…even though I was yelling, “bike back” and then “Bike Back!” and finally, BIIIIIKKKKKEEEEEE BAAAAAAACKKKK!”  I had to come to a complete stop and clip out of my pedals until they saw me.  I may or may not have given them a short lecture on trail courtesy.  Yes, I am turning into THAT old lady. J

A view of one of the catch and release ponds on the bike trails

The following week, I rode 90 miles again but this time with my tri group.  We had a route that would cover a large portion of the IMTX bike course.  Little did I know, all of the peeps who ride my pace (~16.5) were only going the 60-mile route.  That meant that yours truly was bringing up the rear.  It was a bit humbling and I may or may not have been tempted to pull over and call the Hubs to come get me.  I was mentally cursing the ride, Ironman and my sanity.  But, I finished the ride.  Fortunately, my group is awesome and have several stops along the way where I had a chance to catch up (only to be left behind again). And, there was an awesome rider who stayed behind at all the turns to make sure everyone (me) didn’t go the wrong way.  It sucked, but I am so glad I did it!

Almost done with 90 miles!

This past weekend our training schedule called for 100 miles on the bike.  My first century ride!!!  I was both excited and scared!   Naturally, the weather forecast predicted 100% chance of rain pretty much all day on Saturday and 60% chance of rain on Sunday.  Ugh!  So, rather than sitting on my trainer in front of the tv, I decided to make a reservation at VR Cycling Studio, where I could ride the IMTX course with minimal distractions and really focus on getting in a great workout.  So I did that.  I sat for 5 hours on my bike in front of a monitor showing a cartoon cyclist ride a bike.  

This is what you get to look at while riding at VR...it shows your mph, time riding, wattage (sadly, mine is pretty low)

Mind numbing, right?

I rode 87 miles…not quite 100 , but still better than being at home on the trainer.  And wouldn’t you know it…the weather was AMAZING on Sunday. No rain.  Grrrr, I knew I should have waited until Sunday to ride!  But if I hadn’t gone to VR, I am sure that it would have rained cats and dogs and I would have been on the trainer at home (VR is closed on Sunday).

This is VR Cycling Studio...as much as I'd rather be riding outdoors, we are really lucky to have it nearby!

There’s not too much to report on the swim and run.  I am trying to go to my club's group swims at least once a week, because it’s fun, the people are great and it provides a challenge.  Heck, for me just going to a group swim is a challenge…as someone who just learned to swim a few years ago, I have always been intimidated by the “real” swimmers.  On our schedule, we are now swimming between 3,000 and 4,200 yds.  That’s a lot of time in the pool!  

I am a bit behind on the running, thanks to the broken foot recovery.  But, I did get in 15 miles on Sunday and the foot felt fantastic!  I wish I could say the same for my right quad/hip/inner thigh muscle.  I’m scheduled for a good sports massage next week, so I hope that helps.  I may use my recovery week to let my leg get some rest as well.

Hope you're week has been fan-freaking-tastic!!!